Work experience & internships
Work experience and summer placements
Unfortunately our work experience placements are full for this academic year (2024/2025). For any enquiries about potential opportunities in future, please reach out directly to our Principal Investigators.
Nuffield placements
Nuffield Research Placements give students the opportunity to work alongside professional scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians for 4-6 weeks over the summer holidays.
To find out more and to see if you meet the eligibility criteria, visit the Research Placements and Experiences website.
In2scienceUK programme
The In2scienceUK programme helps disadvantaged and under-represented 16-17 year olds (studying at least one STEM subject, either at sixth form or at college) gain an insight into science, technology, engineering or maths. The programme seeks supervisors to host these students for 2-week placements in the summer, and hosts can be anyone from PhD students, to Postdocs, to PIs.
See the In2scienceUK website for more information.
Internships
Internships are fixed-term periods of paid work experience, typically lasting 1-3 months.
You may want to check out the University of Cambridge School of Biological Sciences which run their internship programme Experience Postgrad Life Sciences every year for undergraduates.
As a widening participation initiative, the Life Sciences programme offers 8-week Summer research placements to second year UK and Republic of Ireland undergraduate students, with priority given to those from underrepresented and disadvantaged groups.
External and existing University of Cambridge students are welcome to apply for internships within the University. To apply for an internship vacancy that you've seen advertised, please visit the Internship website here for more information.
Please note: Applicants must apply to a specific vacancy - CVs from speculative applicants will not be accepted.
Erasmus+
Erasmus+ is the European Union’s (EU) funding programme for education and training, youth and sport.
The University of Cambridge has participated in the Erasmus programme since its inception 25 years ago and in the last few years there has been a substantial increase in student mobility.
Students from institutions with whom we have an Erasmus inter-institutional agreement can come at all levels; undergraduate, Masters and PhD and for one, two or three terms. Applicants must achieve the same entry requirements as students applying for a full degree, this includes an English language requirement.
For more information about the Erasmus Programme, please visit Erasmus+.
Outreach projects - students under 16
Network for East Anglian Collaborative Outreach (neaco) delivers activities across East Anglia to help students in Years 9-13, with little or no experience of university, to explore the world of higher education.
Find out moreabout neaco here.
Insight Discover
Insight Discover is a programme that students follow from Year 7 to Year 8, which aims to develop key academic skills to support them in their academic work. In addition, the programme introduces students to university and the options which are available to them in the future.
Insight Discover is a collaborative programme with The Brilliant Club (see also below) and in the final part of Insight Discover our participants take part in the Brilliant Club’s Scholars Programme.
Find out moreabout Insight Discover here.
Insight Explore
Insight Explore is an academic programme for Year 9 students which aims to develop participants interests and tackle the barriers many students face when applying to university.
Find out more about Insight Explore here.
Realise
The Realise project's aim is to encourage more young people in care to consider higher education. The University of Cambridge runs a large number of events ranging from science days to theatre days to give a taste of life as a student at Cambridge.
Find out more about Realise here.
Outreach projects – students 16+
HE+
HE+ is a collaboration between the University of Cambridge's Admissions Office and Colleges, and state schools/colleges across the UK. The University and schools in 20 regions collaborate to form regional consortia to support highly-able students from under-represented areas and backgrounds, and involves approximately 4,000 students in Year 12 each year.
Find out more about HE+ here.
Insight+
Insight + aims to support students making competitive applications to selective Higher Education Institutions by supporting students over 12 months from Easter in Year 12. Students receive additional subject specific teaching across five subject strands (English, Physics, Maths, Chemistry and History) which is delivered by experience teachers and departmental outreach practitioners.
Find out more about Insight+ here.
Sutton Trust Summer Schools
Sutton Trust Summer Schools are free subject-specific residential courses for Year 12 students studying at state-maintained schools in the UK. The five-day summer schools in July and August allow students to explore their interest in one of 26 subjects and gain an insight into what it is like to live and study as a first-year undergraduate student at Cambridge.
Find out more about Sutton Trust Summer Schools here.
Opportunities for current postgraduate students to get involved with schools or training
Public engagement
If you have a great idea for engagement with community or patient groups, get in touch with the Institute Public Engagement team to discuss support and approaches: engage@stemcells.cam.ac.uk
The Brilliant Club
Are you a PhD researcher or doctoral graduate who wants to help a young person realise their academic potential?
The Brilliant Club’s 'Researcher Development Programme' offers PhD and Early Career Researchers a meaningful, professionally developmental, paid tutoring opportunity. Training with The Brilliant Club and working as a Scholars Programme tutor enables researchers to communicate their research to a non-specialist audience, gain valuable teaching and public engagement experience and deepen their knowledge of the UK education system.
Tutors will be supported to complete a series of training modules before beginning work with us, and further continuous professional development for each subsequent placement.
Find out more about the Brilliant Club here.